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The Election by Darryl Greer Darryl Greer
book review by Carolyn Davis
"'Your concerns in that [racist] direction are entirely unfounded. You won't get any of that nonsense.' ... 'I wish I was as sure about that as you are.'"
The story is set in the near future in Australia during the reign of King Charles III of Britain, after opening in a World War Two setting. A majority of Australians have voted against the British monarch as their head of state, necessitating the election of a president. The race is between Michael Takada, an Australian whose father was Japanese, and racist David Shawcross.
Much of the story focuses on the election's development. Greer's plot is intriguing, and recalls somewhat the persecution of other minorities in older political dramas—The Man and Advise and Consent,in particular. The story contains a surprise, as well, that paves the way for further possibilities, but this book will be enjoyable to anyone who likes political drama. A style note that is effective because it is intriguing is Greer's method of describing time. The opening sequence in the past is dated exactly to the minute: "Wednesday, 23 September, 1942 - 1410 hrs.," while the opening chapter in the future begins with a cryptic, "London, England. Tomorrow. 6 a.m." It is for the reader to decide when "Tomorrow" is, since the situations in the novel and their intertwining—racism, war, assassination attempts, and, grounding it all, politics—are always with us.